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Eurozone leaders pledge to finalize Greek debt talks this week

Xinhua, June 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Eurozone leaders have agreed to finalize the Greece debt talks within this week, said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker after a Eurogroup summit Monday.

"I am convinced that it is not only our intention to finalize this decision-making process this week, we will finalize the process this week," Juncker told reporters.

Greece offered two proposals to its international creditors, one sent in late Sunday and another sent early Monday morning, according to Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

The second proposal was "broad and comprehensive" and was seen as "a positive step in the process," Dijsselbloem said after eurozone finance ministers finished first reviews of the proposals.

The finance ministers and state leaders of the euro zone declined to reveal any details of the proposals, though Dijsselbloem's opinion was echoed by Donald Tusk, president of the European Council.

"The new Greek proposals to the three institutions are a positive step forward according to the initial assessment of the institutions," Tusk said after the Eurogroup summit, adding that they will be further assessed over the coming hours.

A Eurogroup meeting will be held this week to hear the final outcome of the in-depth assessment. Work must now proceed swiftly in the Eurogroup so that it can achieve results to be presented Thursday morning, Tusk said.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz was cautiously optimistic. "We are in a very difficult situation but I am still optimistic that there is solution to be found," he said in a statement.

Talks between Greece and its international creditors -- the European Commission, the IMF and the European Central Bank -- have been in deadlock for five months. The creditors are unwilling to unlock the final 7.2 billion euros (8.2 billion U.S. dollars) tranche of bailout funds until Greece agrees to economic reforms. Endi